The Inquisition

I recently blogged about Dr. Robert Jensen and his new book All My Bones Shake. He has posted a piece adapted from his book called, The Inquisition:

One of the most surreal days of my adult life was spent sitting in a Presbyterian church in San Antonio, listening to several hundred church officials discuss the state of my soul.

Throughout my childhood I attended a Presbyterian church, trudging off to Sunday school as a youngster, then to church services when I got older. I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but this early experience with church was life-threatening—I was bored, nearly to death. My participation in this social ritual was decidedly not voluntary; I was told to do all this by my parents, which was not unusual in the world in which I grew up. Not surprisingly, I fled from church as soon as possible, intending never to look back.

Three decades later I decided to take another look...(Read More)